Chapter 1229: Earthquake

Earthquake

When Chen Ling calmly uttered the words "double-skin milk," Sun Bumian's mouth began to gape wide open. He looked at the double-skin milk and Chen Ling in shock, standing on the spot like a sculpture...

Chen Ling didn't think this was strange. Just as Sun Bumian in the Save Point had said, this was what Chen Ling owed him.

If Sun Bumian hadn't consumed the Power of Samsara to save him from the Turbid Calamity, it was likely that all the people of Wushan, as well as Lu Xun and the others, would have certainly died. Everyone owed Sun Bumian a huge favor.

Therefore, after Chen Ling exited the Timeline Save File, he directly came to the Cafeteria and asked the Head Chef in the back kitchen to make a portion of double-skin milk... Originally, there was no such dish on the menu of the Integration Faction, but Chen Ling had enough face in the Integration Faction. Since he proactively pleaded, the Head Chefs took out various books and studied them carefully for a while before coming up with this thing.

In the Timeline Save File, Sun Bumian didn't get to eat a single bite of the double-skin milk he longed for until he died. No matter what, Chen Ling had to make up for this regret in this era.

"Where did you get double-skin milk from???" Sun Bumian took quite a while to return to his senses.

"I had the Kitchen make it."

At this moment, Sun Bumian could no longer hear Chen Ling's explanation. He continuously gulped, picked up the double-skin milk, and started eating it in tiny little bites.

After eating half of it, Sun Bumian silently put it down.

"Why aren't you eating?" Chen Ling asked.

"Saving some for tomorrow." Sun Bumian restrained his gluttonous desires, striving to shift his gaze away. "If I finish it today, there won't be any tomorrow..."

Chen Ling: ...

Without comparison, there is no harm. Seeing the cautious Sun Bumian before him, Chen Ling only felt that his life in this lifetime was too miserable.

No convenient high-speed trains or planes, no dazzling array of delicacies, no highly respected status as a "senior," not many traditional festivals, let alone the kind of noisy and lively atmosphere he liked the most. It probably wouldn't open up for business a few times a year... Even the gold he had accumulated for an unknown number of lifetimes had been stolen.

For Sun Bumian, this era might truly be called the "worst of times."

The gaze Chen Ling looked at him with was full of pity. "Rest assured, I've already told the back kitchen. They will make a separate portion of double-skin milk for you every day from now on."

"!"

Sun Bumian shot up from his seat, grabbed Chen Ling's shoulders forcefully with both hands, his eyes red with emotion. "Hearts, forgive me for not realizing before... So you are actually such a good person.

Don't worry, I, Sun Bumian, will forever support you!!! We are brothers for life... no, forever!"

"...Alright, alright, I know. Hurry up and eat."

Sun Bumian sat back in his chair, directly picked up the remaining half of the double-skin milk, and wolfed it down. Only after licking it clean to the last drop did he burp in satisfaction.

Chen Ling looked around:

"It's been so long, Spades and Clubs still haven't returned?"

"It's been more than half a year, hasn't it..." Sun Bumian pinched his fingers and calculated. "When he said he was going to temper himself deep in the Gray World back then, I thought he wouldn't be able to last ten days... I didn't expect half a year to pass in a flash. It seems that after losing to you that time, he got serious."

"With Clubs around, as long as they don't face a World-Ending entity head-on, they shouldn't be in too much danger. But what about eating?" After Chen Ling finished speaking, he realized something.

"I almost forgot... Clubs doesn't need to eat, and Spades won't starve to death even if he's hungry..."

Jiang Xiaohua's ability could perfectly conceal Jian Changsheng's aura in the Gray World, acting as a mobile Safe House. With him around, Jian Changsheng could recklessly challenge any Calamity. As long as he didn't face a World-Ending entity head-on, there would basically be no life-threatening danger. Therefore, even if the two hadn't returned for half a year, Chen Ling and Sun Bumian weren't too worried.

However, the time the two spent out this trip was much longer than Chen Ling had imagined...

The unwillingness and ruthlessness in Jian Changsheng's eyes after losing to him at the Scarlet Heaven Sect Branch surfaced in Chen Ling's mind once again. Just as he said, his purpose for coming to the Integration Faction this time was only one... That was to control the ancient Killing Intent in his body and become stronger than Chen Ling.

Chen Ling was also very curious. After being tempered in the Gray World for half a year, what would Jian Changsheng look like the next time they met?

Hum, hum, hum—

Just as Chen Ling finished eating and was preparing to leave, a slight trembling sound came from the Cafeteria.

The arranged tables and chairs began to make creaking sounds. All the members of the Integration Faction stopped their movements and looked around blankly. Frowning, Chen Ling looked outside the tree hollow, only to realize that it wasn't just this one Cafeteria trembling, but the entire earth...

This trembling wasn't like an earthquake. Instead, it was like a large number of animals migrating nearby, the trembling roar produced by trampling the earth. Fortunately, it wasn't intense. The tree body only swayed slightly, causing no damage.

"...An earthquake?" Sun Bumian asked in confusion. "Do earthquakes happen in the Gray World too?"

"It's not an earthquake. It should be caused by large-scale activities of a certain Calamity territory."

"But there shouldn't be any Calamity territories around the Integration Faction..."

This trembling lasted for about a minute or so and finally disappeared. The children of the Integration Faction also relaxed and continued chatting and eating. However, occasionally they would still look outside the tree hollow, a trace of worry surfacing in their eyes.

Looking at the gray heaven and earth outside, Chen Ling's gaze gradually grew grave.

"Just because there weren't any originally, doesn't mean there won't be any now." Chen Ling spoke in a deep voice. "Haven't you noticed? Recently, the activities of these Calamities have become more and more frequent..."

"After all, there are less than five months left until the Red Star descends... These Calamities should be very panicked too, right?"

Chen Ling glanced at the earth not far away. After hesitating for a moment, he slowly stood up:

"I'll go out and take a look."

...

Underground of the Mother Tree.

Intertwining tree roots entrenched themselves around the underground laboratory. Various petri dishes and instruments were neatly arranged everywhere, clean and tidy.

At this time, Teacher Ye had already taken off his shirt and was wearing a white lab coat and goggles. He was attentively dripping a drop of fresh blood into a beaker, adding various unknown liquids, and stirring. On the experimental table in front of him, over a dozen Shadow Centipedes the size of arms were kept in separate devices, as if fallen into a deep sleep.

Hum, hum, hum—

As the low roar sounded, the underground laboratory was also affected by the earthquake. All the devices on the table trembled slightly. Those originally sleeping Shadow Centipedes seemed to be awakened, uneasily starting to crawl back and forth inside their containers.

Frowning, Teacher Ye stopped his movements and looked up...